Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Hellhole Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 14, 2016

Pierre De Moro's "Hellhole" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and exclusive new video interview with actress Mary Woronov. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Caught

My guess is that the creators of Hellhole wanted it to appeal to people that liked bits of what the women-in-camps films had to offer but were not completely sold on the kitschy violence they promoted. So someone thought that it might be a good idea to have a bunch of young and beautiful women locked in a secluded sanatorium and replace a lot of the kitschy violence with nudity. A decent dose of suspense was then added up to make the ‘new’ film look more respectable.

There are parts of Hellhole that do in fact look respectable. I can tell that attempts were made to have a fairly coherent story and even introduce a few interesting twists. But I can also see that none of the actors that signed for Hellhole were under the impression that they were making a serious thriller. Judging by their body language, it is clear that they knew that they were in a B-grade film that was betting heavily on style.

I like such films. I think that they are great to see late at night when the mind is too tired to question them. My favorite ones come from the 1970s and virtually all of them have great psychedelic scores. I also like the fact that a lot of the directors that made these types of films were willing to experiment with interesting designs and effects to make them look unique. Even when they are flawed, they offer a mix of atmosphere and enthusiasm that contemporary films with their fancy CGI effects simply can’t replicate. (It is not a coincidence that so many young film lovers are now rediscovering these ‘strange’ older films. Simply put, there is a lot more real variety there).

There is a solid dose of enthusiasm in Hellhole but not much in terms of unique designs and effects. Basically, it is a well-behaved exploitation film disguised as a thriller that copies the tense atmosphere that some early European gialli have. After the graphic prologue in which the mother of the main protagonist, Susan (Judy Landers), is killed by a psychopath (Ray Sharkey), the action moves to the secluded sanatorium where a crazy doctor (Mary Woronov) and her assistant (Marjoe Gortner) are secretly using beautiful insane girls in a series of dangerous chemical lobotomy experiments. Amongst these girls is Susan, who now has amnesia, and is soon to be injected with a new and very dangerous cocktail of drugs. Another doctor (Richard Cox) decides to alert the authorities, but he underestimates the crazy doctor and all hell breaks loose.

The bulk of the sleazy material is in the second act. It turns out that amongst the insane patients there are also some drug addicts that would do anything in order to get their fix. This is a good enough excuse to have some lesbian lovemaking scenes, catfights, and torture footage with a few sadistic guards. (Cult actor Robert Z'Dar, who recently passed away, plays one of the guards). So the story does not really have any depth, it only expands the range of exploitation treats before everything is wrapped up in a fairly predictable fashion.

This recent release from U.S. label Shout Factory offers a newly remastered and reconstructed version of the film. Because the original negative has been lost the label worked with the best surviving element, which is apparently a badly damaged interpositive that had various scenes cut. A theatrical print was used to reconstruct the missing scenes and present the film as it was intended to be seen.

Hellhole Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Pierre De Moro's Hellhole arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory.

To prepare this release Shout Factory accessed a badly damaged interpositive, which apparently is the best surviving element. (The original negative has been lost). However, the interpositive was missing various scenes, which is why the label used a theatrical print to reconstruct and present the film as it was intended to be seen. Naturally, there are some minor density fluctuations in areas where inserts were used (see an example in screencapture #14). The rest of the film looks quite wonderful. Some minor damage marks and chemical stains occasionally pop up, but detail and especially fluidity are as good as one can expect from the reconstructed master. Colors appear healthy and very well balanced. There is even a very healthy range of good nuances. Obviously, where transitions occur between the gaps some small drops in saturation are noticeable, but overall balance remains quite good. Finally, there are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Hellhole Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Mono). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The film has a minimalistic psychedelic soundtrack that struggles to enhance further enhance the tense atmosphere, but there are a few segments where it certainly makes its presence felt. Some of the transitions where gaps were filled are easy to spot, but for the most part balance is very good. Some minor background and pops are present, but the dialog is very easy to follow.

Hellhole Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Mary Woronov - in this brand new video interview, actress Mary Woronov (Dr. Fletcher) discusses her contribution to Hellhole, he interactions with other cast members, the cutting of the film (with specific comments about the 'sand scene'), etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Shout Factory. In English, not subtitled. (6 min, 1080p).

• Trailer - original trailer for Hellhole. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Cover - with additional archival stills (see screencaptures).

Hellhole Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I can't say that I particularly enjoyed Hellhole, but there is no doubt that there is enough sleaze and enthusiasm in it to perhaps have some people argue that it is a minor genre classic. For these people I think that this new release from Shout Factory will be quite the treat, as it will almost certainly remain the definitive release of Hellhole on the home video market. The label has gone the extra mile to reconstruct the film and present it fully uncut, as it was intended to be seen by dierctor Pierre De Moro. A while ago Shout Factory did something similar for Abel Ferrara's Fear City, but the end result here is even more convincing. RECOMMENDED.